Shoe heel



Dec. 15, 1942. H, w DARRAGH l .2,305,410

sHoE HEEL.

Fild Aug, 1o, 1940 Fig. 1.

' I :1v1/ENT Harry W. Dar h Patented Dec. 15, 1942 SHOE HEEL Harry W. Darragh, Portsmouth, Ohio, assigner to Vulcan Corporation Application August 10, 1940, Serial No. 352,071

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a heel for shoes and is Y particularly directed to a heel construction wherein the wall of the seat thereof is reinforced. In the manufacture of natural wood heels, the various cutting, forming and finishing operations are developed upon the assumption that the grain in the lumber and consequently the block from which the heels are made, extends in a predetermined substantially straight path parallel to the face of the block, which is subsequently concaved to form the heel seat. This method of preparing blocks is highly favorable to the economical production of the heelA and to many of the structural features of the iinished heel. However, such procedure results in creating a weakness at the rearmost portion of the heel seat. This weakness arises from the fact that when the heel seat is formed by the concaving operation, a relatively thin wall is formed at the back of the seat. This thin wall is easily chipped or broken. In a medium or high type of heel, such as those applied to ladies shoes, the plane of the heel rim and the back face of the heel form a relatively small acute angle. Even before the concaving operation, therefore, the thickness of the wood at the back of the heel seat is small. The amount of wood present at this portion of the heel is further reduced by the concaving operation to a degree which results in a decided weakness in the heel, which is the source of many chipped or completely ruined heels.

The weakness of the heel wall arises not only because it is thin but also because the wood fibers at and adjacent the rear portion of the heel seat wall are short, and, consequently, the wood bers do not possess the necessary anchorage to sustain themselves against the shocks to which they are normally or abnormally subjected. The wall, therefore, quite readily crum-l bles and chips and when this occurs, the heel must be repaired or thrown away. The present invention increases the thickness of the heel seat Wall .at its rear portion in such a manner that the `rear portion thereof is strengthened sufliciently to prevent breaking` and chipping and also provides a heel which can be neatly iitted to the shoe bottom.

To provide a better understanding of the invention, a particular embodiment thereof will be described in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a heel embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the heel.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on line 3-3 Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section on line 4-4 Fig. 2.

" determined heel size.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic View illustrating the disposition of the wood grain in the heel.

The present invention may be practicedin connection with any type of heel. Its usefulness,

' however, is more pronounced when the invention is applied to heels of the medium and high type, such as are applied to ladies shoes. A typical Cuban heel 6 is illustrated in the drawing. To aid in presenting an accurate conception of the invention, certain of the commonly employed operf ations in the manufacture of heels will be outlined. It is standard practice for manufacturers of heels to prepare the stock for making the heels by cutting the lumber in sticks 3 or 4 feet long and having a cross-section ofthe required size,

from which a predetermined heel size may be made. These sticks are so cut from the log that the grain of the wood extends substantially straight lengthwise thereof. The sticks are sawed into blocks of the required size to produce a pre- Natural wooden heels of all types have onel characteristic in common; that is, that the plane of the rim I of the heel seat always lies upon theflat surface of the stick from which it was made. This fact automatically establishes the characteristic that the direction of the woodgrain of every heel is substantially parallel to the plane of the heel rim.

The heel block having been prepared, its breast 8 and side faces 9 are turned or otherwise shaped in the usual or any suitable manner. The heel is then ready for the concaving operation. The usual concaving operation is executed by hand or by machine. One established method of concaving is to place the flat heel seat face of the block upon a work table through which a driven cutter projects. A guide or abutment is providedY upon the table, which is adjustable with respect to the cutter. The adjustment is so made that when the heel is fed to the cutter with its outer peripheral edge engaging the abutment face, the cutter executing the concaving cut will produce a rim of the required Width. The heel is fed completely around the periphery of the seat in tangent relation to the abutment during which feeding motion the seat is completely concaved and ordinarily presents an accurately uniform rim Width. The present invention adopts a novel construction wherein the rim 1 and the heel seat I0 is varied in width at its rearmost portion. The heel seat rim along the sides of the heel is narrow and uniform in width from the breast corners rearward to a position substantially three-fourths of the way back on the seat. At this position, indicated at Il, the rim is increased in width. Desrably this increase in width is gradual from the side portions to the extreme rear where it reaches a maximum. This increase in width of the rim is accomplished by varying the relative position of the heel and cutters as the concaving operation proceeds along the rear portion of the rim. This concaving operation may be executed in any suitable manner to produce an equivalent result.

t will be observed from Fig. 3 that the rear wall of the heel is relatively thick and durable and that the thinnest portion of the wall at the rim is relatively substantial. As above pointed out, if the wall were of uniform width, it would be too thin and delicate at its rear portion I l and subject to breakage. Referring to Fig. 5, the fibers of the wood are indicated diagrammatically as to their direction and disposition throughout the seat portion of the heel. It will be noted that the minimum length of the wood fibers found at the rim 'l are of substantial length and present a su'iciently great resistance to breakage. At the side portions of the rim, the wood fibers extending as they do from front to rear of the heel are not cut short by the concaving operation, but lie lengthwise along the rim. Consequently, the side walls of the seat are relatively rugged, due to the natural characteristics of a section of wood containing long fibers. These side walls are not readily ruptured and even though they are quite thin, it is found unnecessary to increase their thickness.

The necessary width of the rim at the back of the heel seat may be found by experimentation and may vary .with different kinds and grades of woods. No difficulty will be experienced in tting the rear portion of the heel to the shoe bottom for the reason that the normal contour of the rear portion of the shoe is well adapted to receive the flat rim and, furthermore, the rear portion of the shoe bottom readily conforms to the heel shape because the shoe sole does not extend back to this location and in most shoe constructions, the shoe bottom at this location, contains plastic filling material which allows the rear portion of the heel to become perfectly seated to the shoe. The narrow side portions of the rim t the shoe in the normal way.

The shoe manufacturer will greatlyY benefit by the use of this heel. of heels has always been a source of spoilage and waste in slloe manufacture. The great difficulty has been that a shoe after it has been completed and made ready for the heeling operation represents a` substantial expenditure of material and labor. The heeling operation, therefore, must be carefully done, but breakage and chipping of the heel seat rim is diflicult to avoid if a narrow rim heel is employed. When the heel chips or splits a substantial loss results to the manufacturer, who must remove the broken heel and apply another. Such an operation is costly and subjects the shoe to the hazard of irreparable damage. By employing a heel manufactured under the principles of the present invention, this costly damage is eliminated.

The breaking and chipping Another great source of damage to heels have ing narrow seat rims is the damage which occurs in handling prior to the heeling operation or while the heel is in the hands of the heel manufacturer and during shipment. Therefore, both the heel and shoe manufacturer will benet by the invention inasmuch as all breakage occurring prior and during the heeling operation will be eliminated.

I claim:

1. A ladys high shoe heel comprising a body portion presenting the desired contour, said body having' a concaved heel seat, within which the heel portion of the shoe is received, a heel seat wall extending along the heel seat periphery with the exception of that portion which adjoins the heel breast, said wall consisting of the wood be tween the concavity of the heel seat and the outer faces of the sides and back of the heel body, said wall presenting a flat rim at its upper extremity, the plane of which embraces a relatively small acute angle with the back face of the heel body, said wall being relatively thin at.

the sides of the heel from the heel breast rear- .wardly a distance equal to at least two-thirds of the length of the heel seat and presenting a narrow, flat rim of uniform width at its upper eX- tremity, the rear portion of said wall being of substantially greater thickness and presenting a rim substantially wider than the rim at the heel sides, said rear portion of said wall and rim increasing gradually respectively in thickness and width from said side portion to a maximum thickness and Width at the rear extremity of the heel seat whereby the thin wall occasioned by the acute angle at the back of the heel seat is strengthened.

2. A natural wood heel in which the wood grain extends from the back to the front. thereof and substantially parallel to the plane of its upper extremity, said heel comprising a body portion presenting the desired contour and having a concaved heel seat in its upper portion within which the shoe bottom is received, a heel seat iwall extending around the periphery of the heel seat with the exception of that. portion which adjoins the heel breast, said wall consisting of the wood between the concavity of the heel seat and the .side and back faces of the heel body, said wall tapering upwardly to a minimum thickness and terminating in a fiat rim, said. rim being relatively narrow and uniform. 'in width from the heel breast rearward a distance equal to at least two-thirds of the length of the seat, the rear portion of said wall being substantially increased in thickness and presenting a flat rim substantially wider than the rim at the heel sides, said rear portion of said wall and rim increasing gradually respectively in thickness and width from said side portionk to a mximum thickness and width at the rear extremity of thev heel seat whereby the rear portion of the heely seat wall. is strengthened.

HARRY W. DARRAGH. 

